Wonderland
by MiaMiaMi
Summary: Timeturner! In an attempt to warn Hogwarts of an attack, Hermione is mistakenly sent back to the Marauders era. With no plan, and all but no hope of returning to her own time she struggles to cope with her situation. Lying was never her strong suit.
1. Chapter 1

_**Something I wrote up spur of the moment. I have other ideas for it so I guess we'll call it a WIP for now . We'll see how it goes. Unedited and raw (As I'm sure you'll notice) Have fun with it! Let your imaginations run wild duckies! Title (and chapters) may be subject to change.**_

Wonderland

It was cold and dark. Rain pelted the ground with enough force to cause the water to bounce back into the air. Hermione Granger ran for all she was worth down the trail leading from Hogwarts to the little hut which housed none other than Hagrid who was waiting anxiously for her arrival.

The rain blurred her vision, but just the same she was positive that there was more than just rain water falling over her face at the moment. Pain wracked her body with every step she took; broken ribs would do that to a person.

Another explosion could be heard, and then the crash of stone falling to the ground. She could see Hagrid's hut now, his door was open, the half-giant had his head stuck outside and upon spotting her he made his way up the path as quickly as he could manage.

"Thank Merlin your alright! I was gettin' pretty worried - _are_ you alright?" He grabbed Hermione by the shoulders eyeing her as she wheezed heavily while she tried to reply, only to find she was unable to catch her breath properly enough to do so. She nodded instead, there was no time for fussing over anything, once her task was accomplished her current state wouldn't be of any concern.

"Common then…" Hagrid slid the chain of the time-turner around her neck, hoping that the girl would be able to make it in time to warn the school of the attack that had come all too suddenly. "How many times should I turn it? 3 hours?" Hagrid question was barely audible over the explosions and the drumming of rain. Hermione held up 4 fingers, her form almost double over now as she tried to regain her composure. "4 it is." Hagrid quickly spun the time turner "One, two, thre-- " He never counting. Hermione was thrown forward into and through the fence of Hagrid's vegetable patch, screaming upon impact. Hermione's last conscious memory was that of the world spinning out of focus, and the bright green flash of an unforgivable curse.

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Care of Magical Creatures certainly wasn't the most exciting class in the world. Especially when your professor was about as brave as a… there really wasn't an expression worth using in this particular case. Professor Crane was one of the most timid creatures that James had the misfortune of coming across. _Boring Boring Boring. _James recited to himself. Why on earth did he decide to take this class again? He couldn't imagine what he'd been thinking when he'd picked his courses for the semester. At least the weather was nice.

"As you can see, this particular breed of canine is quite docile and many keep them as house pets." Droned Crane as a big grey monster of a dog rolled over lazily, waging its tail and looking up at everyone lazily. "Come now Mr. Longbottom he won't bite… Mr. Longbottom? Longbottom! What on earth is so much more interesting that you must – Oh my…"

Upon hearing the loud gasps of his classmates James looked up from his shoes and craned his neck to see what everyone else was looking at. "Bugger…" he exclaimed watching as a figure staggered over the fence that surrounded the vegetable garden only to crumple into a heap on the ground. Moments later what now appeared to be a young woman struggled to her feet and began advancing towards the class.

"Students, stay here!" Cried Professor Crane running (cautiously of course) and waving his hand in an attempt to make everyone stay put. "Excuse me! Young lady!" He drew his wand as he ran, not that he needed it. Personally James thought that she looked as though a gust of wind could kill her.

"Please," she gasped, clutching at her side as she fell into the professor. "Dumbledore! Please…" She looked up at the crowd of students that was slowly edging towards her, James included. "What?" she wheezed as she squinted in their direction. "What is this?"

Hermione's confusion lasted only seconds longer, the odd pressure against her broken ribs caused enough pain to allow her to slip into unconsciousness, forgetting all about the strange faces that she'd seen only moments ago. _Not only that,_ she thought before everything faded into darkness… _It should be raining._

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Hermione's eyes snapped open as soon as she realized she was awake. Quickly she sat up and searched the room, "Madame Pomfrey! Thank Merlin its not too late!" she cried upon spotting the Medi-witch on the far side of the room. "Voldemort is attacking! We must warn Dumbledore and tell him to contact the Order!"

"WHAT!" Screeched Poppy in utter shock as the tray of potions she had been holding clattered to the ground.

Hermione was already out of bed making her way towards the door. "We have to warn them before it's too late!"

"_Petrific Toticalus!"_

Suddenly Hermione was unable to move, frozen in her attempt to push open the doors of the hospital wing.

"What on earth are you trying to do girl!" huffed Pomfrey. "I thought there was no head-trauma obviously I was wrong."

What was going on? Hermione was so lost. Why had she cursed her? Hermione didn't know, but regardless she was getting to Dumbledore, someone had to warn him. She could feel herself slowly forcing herself to break free of the charm. Meanwhile the nurse shuffled around, muttering about unruly patients and magicking away the spilt contents of the broken potion bottles. Soon Hermione was free, running down the corridors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, extremely thankful that her ribs had been healed. It they hadn't been, the enraged nurse screaming at her from the door way of the Hospital wing probably would have caught her. And a pissed of Poppy was definitely not something that she wanted to encounter.

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Everyone looked up simultaneously as someone came running through the doors of the Great hall, straight between the Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables and directly to the Staff table. Standing in front of the Headmaster she seemed to hesitate looking right, then left, then right again. After a few seconds she turned around, looking at the Gryffindor table, sizing up everyone until her eyes fell on a certain group of individuals known as the Marauders. Her mouth formed an ' 'O' Turning around to face the Headmaster again she said something none of the students quite caught, but it definitely got the Staff's attention. Immediately Headmaster Dumbledore and two other professors whom he motioned to stood and followed him from the staff table, directing the mysterious woman out of the Great Hall and away from prying eyes.

Immediately after they were out of sight the hall broke out in whispers. "What was that about?" asked Remus, baffled (as was everyone else) by the professors odd behavior.

"That's the girl that we saw during Care of Magical Creatures." supplied James who out of the 4 marauders had been the only one to take the class again during his 7th year. "She was in a right state then, it looks like Madame Pomfrey fixed her up quite nicely."

"Who is she?" Inquired Evans; suddenly everyone surrounding James was looking his way waiting for an answer.

"I don't bloody well know. She popped up out of thin are all war-torn and whatnot! Crane dragged her off, and it's not like she was in any shape to talk to anyone." He ruffled his hair slightly. Where had she come from? He was sure they'd find out soon enough, it's not like anyone could actually keep a secret for long in Hogwarts, the truth was bound to come out sooner or later. James just wondered why on earth she had given him such a terrified look. He was sure she had looked straight at him her eyes wide and face as pale as a sheet.

In another part of the castle Hermione Granger sat alone, letting the gravity of her situation sink in. Her stance was that of someone tired and defeated. She had failed. She was done, there was nothing for her here except secrecy, and if she ever returned to her own time there would be nothing except an overlord and a society in shambles. She lay in one of the hospital beds, curtains closed, staring up at the stone ceiling. _Perhaps… If I lie here long enough, I'll just fade away… and this will all be over._ But of course, she would do what was expected of her. Abiding by the rules the present time Dumbledore had laid out for her. In that case, there was no lying about moping for the rest of her existence. Classes started Monday at 8. _Goody._


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't really know where we're going with this, and I know its slow-going, But I'm positive we'll have a wonderful adventure . And I'm so excited! I can't wait!**

Chapter 2

It must have had something to do with the unforgivable that had been cast her way… Or the breaking of the time turner, after all, it had shattered into an irreparable amount of pieces. Whatever happened Hermione had traveled back in time much farther than intended… 20 or so years farther than intended actually.

Hermione stared at the ceiling, unable to stop her mind from replaying the events that had taken place before the time turner had came into her possession. Harry had been with her, running right at her heals. Where had he gone? How could she have lost him so easily? One minute he was there, the next she had turned around and he was no where in sight. But there was no time to stop and look. There was no time.

_I certainly have plenty of time now._ She thought sourly. _I can't believe that things have turned out so horribly!_ Her face was set in stone. This was not turning out to be a good situation at all, even though trying to warn Hogwarts of the attack had only a slim chance of succeeding, there was little or no hope of returning back to her own time. A few hours were nothing, a few years… that was a different matter. Time-turners were fairly easy to handle. You wait for the hours to pass and suddenly your back where you started when you first turned the hourglass shaped contraption. The only way to get back to her time (That she knew) would be to wait until the time that she had turned it…. 25 years from her present day.

_Ginny_. Hermione closed her eyes. She could see her as though they were in the same room. The scene played through her mind with disturbing clarity… There had been a flurry of red hair as she tried to dodge aside only to be hit with a curse and thrown into a wall, the tapestry falling atop her as she became tangled while trying to stand up. She hadn't moved after the second curse hit her. There was a still lump under a mountain of blue material. Hermione had kept running she had a mission to complete. _A mission that failed horribly…_ What had she done? What could she do? Feeling very lost and alone Hermione contemplated her options, and was very disappointed to discover that she really didn't have any options at all; absolutely _none_.

She was starting class on Monday. Lost on her way to Hogwarts earlier that week, apparently the young woman who had collapsed outside the vegetable patch had been attacked by Death Eaters… Or at least that was what the professors were telling students. Why had she been attacked? Apparently that was still a mystery to everyone involved - Including the victim. Random attacks weren't unheard of though, so no strong suspicions had arisen, only the usual rumors that spread throughout Hogwarts.

Ms. Lain they had said her name was. Hermione Lain. But James knew better, the Marauders map knew better. Ms. Hermione Granger could not hide from the troublesome foursome, but somehow Dumbledore had known this. This was why the four 7th year Grifyindors were sitting in his office and very obediently listening to what he had to say.

"I realize…" Professor Dumbledore started, staring over his peaked fingers at the four young men. "That in your possession is a piece of parchment."

Each of the boys remained silent, waiting for him to continue, only to find that he was waiting for their reply.

"We… all have parchment professor…" Sirius stated tentatively, eyeing the older man suspiciously.How had he known? It was impossible. The only ones who knew about the map were the four who had created it.

"I am very well aware of that Mr. Black. The piece of parchment I am referring to, also serves the purpose of a map; a map that if in the wrong hands, could have disastrous consequence." Dumbledore eyed them as they sent glances back and forth to each other, none willing to give up they're prized work. "You are smart young men, you know of Voldemort and his advances against muggleborns. You also know of his Death Eaters and the danger that the wizarding world is inevitably going to face. Your map, if in the wrong hands, could be used to find _anyone _in this school. If the wrong people had that map, we potentially would never know until it was too late that someone or something dangerous had made its way into the school. I believe it may be prudent of you to turn it over to those who can keep it safe. You have my word that it will be returned to you at the appropriate time."

How in bloody hell had he known about the map? They sat dumbfounded, staring at the older man, each wondering which of them had ratted the others out. There was no way out of this; the Headmaster had made a very valid point and they all knew it. In the wrong hands, the Marauders map was a dangerous tool. Not just a neat toy to be used all in fun; but a weapon, with the potential to destroy.

James huffed angrily, digging inside his robes where the parchment was hidden, then standing and striding to Dumbledore's desk in a manner that clearly stated how displeased he was with the situation. Silently he slapped the parchment onto Dumbledore's desk and stormed out of his office. _Ridiculous! He has no idea how much work that took! Now he's guilt's us out of ownership!_

"Umm yeah, so, we'll be leaving now…" Remus stated slowly standing and waiting for his other two friends to follow his example.

"Thank you, I apologize for the inconvenience. Goodnight." Dumbledore smiled as they exited his office. As they closed his door Albus unfolded the parchment looking at the absolutely blank page in front of him. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." He whispered, tapping his wand on the page.

"_Messrs…"_

Mrs. Granger had been telling the truth. Dumbledore smiled to himself, those boys truly were brilliant, if not a little too much so for their own good.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Was it her fault? Perhaps. Her thoughts kept running around in circles. Maybe if she had taken a different route to Hagrids. Maybe then everything would have worked out the way it should have. Perhaps if she had stood her ground and defended herself, she may have overcome her attackers... though it was very outlikely, she had been outnumbered to a point where there could be no victory without a miricale. If only a mirical had came. Circles. She was getting dizzy from all the circles. Or perhaps it was the potion fumes she was inhaleing.

She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts and focus on the task at hand. Potions could be very dangerous if not brewed correctly. Even the simpleist potion could become something deadly if brewed incorrectly... All those years with Neville as a classmate had taught her that the hard way.

For the most part her day was going well, aside from the mindbending questions she had been asking herself. She had done well avoided all the whispers and stares which were directed her way. Choosing to ignore them and pretending it was just another normal day in school.

If she hadn't known any better she would have sworn the attack had never happened, that she hadn't been sent back in time. And that Harry and Ron would be rushing in late for potions at any minute. But she did know better. The normalacy of everything was putting her on edge. That and she could feel the eyes of one James Potter drilling into the back of her head.

They wern't stupid. She knew that they (The group of boy's otherwise known as the Mauraders) probably suspected her of something, especially after their map was taken from them not too long after she "arrived". She only hoped that they hadn't seen anything before the Headmaster had conficated it.

Strands of hair that she had tamed earlier that morning were falling loose and becoming curly and frizzy in the humidity of the lab, she swatted at stray strands that had fallen in her eyes, tucking them behind her ears. _8 clockwise stirs, 4 counter clockwise stirs immediately following. _Hermione's eyes scanned the instructions once more before stiring. _Let simmer for 24 hours._ It looked like she would have to wait until tomorrow afternoon to see how her potion turned out.

"Professor Slughorn, I've finished."

The portly man wandered over for a look at her potion, with a nod of approval he smiled and walked away. Hermione had been surprised to find that he was her potion's instructor, even though she had learned in the past that Harry's mother had been part of the infamous "Slug club" in her day. She found herself wondering if she would also become part of this club again. If Slughorn would see the same qualities he saw in previous encounters (or future encounters depending on how you look at the situation). Hermione hoped not, he didn't exactly let anyone keep a low profile.

"You may pack up your things and leave Miss Lane... Enjoy the rest of your evening." Professer Slughorn added, almost as an after thought.

She quickly tucked everything away and left, staring stubornly ahead as she avoided the gaze of the afformentioned Mr. Potter. She had work to do, regardless of any suspicions those boy's might have. She needed to find a way to fix this mess she was in. To rectify her mistake and stop herself from ever going this far back in time. But how was the question. She would go to the library, and read, probably for hours, days, weeks on end. Hoping to find some clue as to what could be done. And this is exactly what happened.

Weeks went by, Hermione became quite adept at avoiding everyone at all times. How, James was not entirely sure. One minute she was there, the next she was no where in sight. He had developed an unhealthy obsession with the new girl. Hermione Granger. Otherwise known as Hermione Lane. Why was she hiding? What was she hiding form?

He watched her over the top of his book. They were sitting in the Library. She spent most of here time there, or missing entirely. No one knew much about her, other than she was studious, a walking encyclopedia almost. And no one had heard her speak, other than to answer a question in class. The professors hadn't even paired her with anyone for group projects. She was an enigma.

Hermione had braided her hair today. Opting to save herself the exasperation of always fussing to keep it out of her eyes. She wondered if James knew she knew he was stalking her. He probably did. He had tried to be subtle at first, now he was outright following her without trying to hide it in the least. His book lay flat on the table in front of him, but he wasn't looking at the book. She didn't have to look up to know that he was stairing straight at her.

She didn't know why, but it made her unconfortable, not because he was a so curious. But because her friends father was stalking her. Such strange behaviour from a person who was respected and loved without question by a young man who never knew him sent a funny chill through her. Finally she slammed her book closed. James quickly picked up his book and pretended to be reading. Hermione stalked over to the table he was at and sat heavily in the chair across from him.

"What do you want. You've been stairing at me for ages. Tell me, so I can rectify the situation and go back to what I was doing." She spat, grabbing his book and tossing it further down the table. It landed with a clunk.

James stared, his blue eyes wide in shock. Who was this girl to strut over and demand answers. Well... he had been stairing at her. "What were you doing?" He replied, leaning back in his chair, slightly disgruntled at having been caught, and being talked to so bluntly.

"I was doing a bit of light reading. Now, why the hell are you stalking me. What do you plan to accomplish. You must want something, otherwise you would have stopped by now. So spit it out." She crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair also. Her stair was level and hard.

James's mouth was suddenly very dry. He glanced around uncertainly. Her eyes held an intensness that he had never seen before. Something so crushing that he couldn't quite place why they had such an affect on him. He couldn't look her in the eye for too long, he'd be lost if he did.

"I was wondering where you came from." He said finally. The truth would do he supposed. "How you got here. Why you were in such bad shape. Who did that to you... I have a lot of questions. Questions that you haven't answered... actually, this is the first time you've really talked to anyone outside of class... so..."

" To answer your questions, I don't know how I got here and I was attacked by dark wizards. Anything else?" She leaned forward, her hands clasped in front of her on the desk.

"Uh..." He shifted uncomfortably. She was watching him with a stare that would wither the strongest tree in a forest. "Have you started your essay for Professor Slughorn? it's horrendous."

She blinked at him in what he thought was suprise. After a long pause she finally replied. "I finished it a while ago. Would you like some help?"

He would have fallen off his chair if it hadn't had arms to keep him in his place. "Y-Yes, If it wouldn't be too much trouble. That would be great."

"Get your book then."

And that was how it started. Hermione would later mentally kick herself for purpously interacting with someone so important in shaping her timeline. But was it that bad really? She gazed at him as he talked to her about his essay, not looking up as he wrote. Was altering the future really that bad? Could it get any worst? Harry, Ginny, Ron... all the other lives that were lost or affected by the war. Would Hogwarts or the wizarding community be any more damaged by anything she did here? Her very presence, alone or accompanied, could change everything. Circles. She couldn't escape these damn circles.


	4. Chapter 4

She couldn't make the distinction between when she stopped feeling as though her world had fallen apart… And when it had started to feel almost normal again. But sometime, between the freshly broken ribs, and the healed ( but still tender) rib cage. She had started to feel as though the world made sense again… almost.

When exactly it had happened she wasn't sure. But one thing that she was positive of, was that nothing would never be the same again. There was no way of knowing what spell had broken the time turner as she had turned it. She had even used Dumbledore's pensive in an attempt to relive the experience. But she hadn't heard what was said. She couldn't, over the roar of the rain, and the fighting. It was impossible, unless guess work was involved. Unfortunately Guess work and time travel weren't things that went hand in hand. And Hermione wasn't someone who was willing to play guessing games.

She had done her job, in essence… She had warned them of the attack. Although it was many years before the attack ever happened. They had still been warned. Time worked in mysterious ways. She should have known better than to attempt to alter it. But desperate times called for desperate measures.

Lately Hermione had taken to helping James with his potions homework on a regular basis. Despite knowing that she could potentially alter his future, she has slowly grown to adopt the opinion that sometimes… in order to hide something, it was best to keep it out in the open. So that was what she had done. She had opened herself up to the general population. She had become Hermione Lane. The mysterious girl attacked by dark wizards, running to Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry for protection. She provided minimal details about her past. Being muggle born made it much easier to come up with a plausible cover story. She hadn't been forced to lie (as much) about her background because of this.

Although the lies she had told were starting to pile up higher and higher, she was having trouble keeping track sometimes, but it was easy enough to cover her tracks because of all the rumours floating around.

"Hermione?" James's voice startled her out of her thoughts. She realized that a few people were looking at her and suddenly she realized she'd obviously missed something. Blushing slightly she poked at the eggs on her plate with her fork.

"Sorry, lost in thought I guess. What'd you say?" she took a mouthful and tried her best to pay attention to the conversation going on around her. It was too normal for her to focus sometimes. Normal conversations, about normal things, during a normal school day… except… she looked at the faces of those who surrounded her. Sirius, Remus, James, Peter. All of them were extraordinary in their own way. Even Peter despite his obvious faults. Extraordinary people living an ordinary life. She suddenly wanted to cry. _That__'__s what thinking too much gets you_ she mused.

"Hermione? Earth to Hermione?" Sirius was waving a hand in her face from across the table.

Laughing quietly Hermione shook her head. "I'm sorry, I can't stop thinking about that transfiguration essay. I'm going to pop over to the library so I can get this out of my system before class. I'll see you all later."

When had her voice gotten so small? She wondered. It wasn't everyday that the witch formerly known as Know it all seemed so meek.

Waving goodbye she left the great hall, pretending to blink away imaginary dust, she couldn't for the life of her figure out why her eyes were stinging so badly.

James watched as she walked out of the great hall. Regardless of if she was actually going to the library or not they all knew she wasn't going to research the transfiguration essay. "Think I should go after her?" he asked, still watching the doors she had just passed through.

There was silence from his friends for a moment. "Everyone needs to be alone sometime. Perhaps its best if she has a moment to herself, after not speaking to anyone for so long It's a surprise she's warmed up to everyone so quickly." Remus offered. "We should be heading to class now anyway."

"Yeah…" James responded.

Remus shared a look with Sirius who shrugged in response. He didn't think too much of the new girl. But he wasn't about to stop James from going after her if he really wanted to.

"She's alright mate, we'll see her in class." Peter said standing and gathering his things. The other boys followed suite, grabbing their books and heading off for their first class of the day.

Defence of the dark arts was a particularly touchy subject. Not only was the professor a bit loopy, but she was a tad bit dangerous as well. Truth be told it was a surprise to many that she had managed to keep the position for more than the first month of the term. Professor Lector had a peculiar air about her, there was always something new, fascinating, and particularly deadly that she would attempt to share with her students. Today would be no different they assumed.

All of the students had arrived in class, Hermione being one of the last ones in sat in the front where the last available seat was located. She glanced over her shoulder at the marauders sitting further in the back. Looking to the front of the class again she felt dread wash over her.

There was a tall narrow cabinet standing alone where the Professors desk would usually reside. It shuddered violently making many students jump. As soon as she had walked into the classroom she knew she should have skipped the class entirely. She was positive that there was a boggart in that cabinet, and she had absolutely no desire to know what her greatest fear was. She was positive this time around it wouldn't be a professor telling her she'd failed all her courses.

She picked at her nails and flipped through her textbook in a fruitless attempt to distract herself. _Maybe there__'__s something else in the cabinet. Your overreacting._ She chanted this to herself over and over again until Professor Lector came sweeping.

"Welcome children! I have a special treat for you today!" she practically squealed and she strode towards the front of the class. "Can any of you guess what it is?"

"Something to do with that dusty old thing I'd assume" someone chimed, getting a couple laughs from the students.

"Something to do with this dusty old thing indeed!" Lector was gazing at the cabinet. "Today children you will see a boggart!"

There were murmurs amongst the students. Lily Evans raised her hand and asked a question simultaneously. "Professor, isn't it impossible to actually see a boggart in it's true form? Shouldn't it take on the form of what you fear the most?"

"Why yes Ms. Evans, excellent! I see you've been keeping up with your readings! 5 points for Gryffindor. A boggart is a magical creature that will take on the intended victim's worst fear. Now that being said there is a incantation that will repel the boggart and reduce it to nothing more than the silliest thing you can possibly imagine! What a wonderful creature! Now! We will all be taking turns facing our fears today children…"

The room grew quiet except for the rustling of the boggart inside the cabinet. Professor Lector grinned like it was her birthday and she'd just found out she was a millionaire. "Who wants to go first?"

Hermione was glaring at the table top. What was she supposed to do? She couldn't leave, she had a front row seat someone would definitely notice if she tried to sneak off.

"No volunteers? We'll start from the front and work our way to the back then. Ms. Evans come forward please. I'll explain the counter curse which will repel the boggart then you'll give it a go."

It was at this point that Hermione almost slid to the floor in panic. Lily was only five seats to her right. There were only 4 more people between her and that blasted boggart. _I could always kill it._ She thought, then shook her head, she wasn't about to kill anything.

Hermione was so lost in thought that she hardly noticed Professor Lector show the class how to perform the counter curse. She didn't notice at all what Lily and the next four did, she missed their boggart turning into their worst fear, then into the silliest concoction their minds could come up with.

"Ms. Lain!" Hermione jumped out of her seat. Professor Lector had called her name multiple times and Hermione had forgotten for a moment that that was her name. She was Hermione Lain. _Hermione Lain._ It was her turn to face the boggart.

She hesitantly stepped forward, feeling the blood drain from her face as she neared the cabinet. The room was entirely silent. Or perhaps she just couldn't hear anything over the sound of her own heart beat, she couldn't be sure. _What do I have to fear? I__'__ve faced the worst of almost everything._ She thought to herself, only moments away from the boggart emerging.

She stood before the cabinet, holding her breath. She was morbidly curious about what she would see, but at the same time terrified beyond all words. The cabinet shuttered, then slowly the door began to creek open.

It didn't take a genius to see that Hermione was absolutely horrified at the thought of seeing that boggart. Whispers had broken out as soon as she had risen from her seat to stand in front of the cabinet. What would she see? Would it shed any light on just who the mysterious girl was? Or would it be some incredibly normal fear? _Maybe she__'__s deathly afraid of mice_. James thought to himself.

The cabinet had shuttered, then the door began to creek in an almost painfully slow motion. Necks craned to see what was about to emerge from within. Suddenly the door slammed open, there was a flurry of materials falling to the floor, a thud, then silence. Everyone was standing in an attempt to see what had fallen.

James and his friends pushed through the crowd of students who had slipped out of their desks into the isle to get a closer look. Lying at Hermione's feet was a girl, no older than them. A Hogwarts banner was tangled around the young girls body, blood was pooling around her, spreading outward and seeping into the cracks in the stone floor.

Hermione was staring with a stony expression at the form the boggart had taken. She took slow deliberate steps towards the girl, who's red hair was becoming soaked in her own blood. Although it was a boggart it was no less real to those looking on, everyone's eyes were trained on the scene before them, James silently wondered why Professor Lector hadn't intervened yet.

With Hermione's next step she found her feet in the pool of blood, slowly she knelt down next to the girl, reaching out she touched the fabric of the Hogwarts banner playing with it between her fingers. Her eyes searched the face of the girl on the floor then slowly, thoughtfully, she pulled the lose fabric of the banner forward to cover the girls face.

Her chest heaved as she stood, breathing was becoming difficult. _You__'__ve killed us._ She heard their voices as plain as day. _Why did you leave us?_ They asked her. _I had to._ She answered silently. _I had to. I wasn__'__t given a choice. This wasn__'__t supposed to happen._ Staring down at the boggart posing as a dead Ginny Weasely she suddenly realized that she was still in the classroom. The next thing she realized that she had an audience. Panic over took her again. _This_ was her worst fear she realized. The boggart had hit the nail on the head. It wasn't Ginny, it wasn't that her friends were facing death, it was the thought of these people finding out her secret that she was truly terrified of, and the boggart's form had opened up a whole new set of questions that would be aimed at her. They were that much closer to finding out. She ran.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry for the long wait! This chapter has been waiting patiently to be updated. Unfortunately I had a few issues with my internet provider : ( and was unable to update for quite some time. But everything has been fixed now ^.^ I apologise for any and all typos or spelling errors, I'm not the best when it comes to editing. But all the same I hope you enjoy the read!

"I told you she was hiding something! What kind of fear is that? A dead girl and Hogwarts banner? She's barely been here a couple of months!" James was ranting at this point. The sun had set and there was still no sign of Hermione. She hadn't been in any of her other classes that day, and without the marauders' map it was proving to be practically impossible to find her.

"That and her last name isn't Lain. The map never lies. What's she hiding from?" Sirius said as he peered around the corner of the hallway searching for anyone who might reprimand them for being out after curfew. They had James' invisibility cloak with them, but fitting four almost full grown boys underneath it while walking wasn't very effective, not to mention it was extremely uncomfortable.

Walking around the corner they continued to brainstorm about the mysterious Hermione Granger. "Why are we even bothering? If she's keeping secrets, maybe they're best left uncovered." Peter commented, sighing as they continued their search. The girl obviously had something major going on. Was he the only one who thought it was none of their business?

"Peter's right, we really have no reason to be prying into her life like this." Remus replied. "This is just a tad bit insane don't you think? What exactly are you both expecting?"

"Answers." both James and Sirius replied.

"To what questions?" Remus countered. "Will this actually do anyone any good? Your harassing this girl for absolutely no reason other than your own curiosity."

"She's lying about something. She's the reason Dumbledore took the map, I know it. We're going to find out why." Sirius was getting irritated. They had searched the entire castle and still no sign of the girl.

James remained quiet, contemplating Remus's words. Why did he want to know what she was hiding? There was no logical reason for it. He knew that for a fact. But he couldn't help but want to know. The mystery was driving him mad.

Sirius peaked around another corner, "Hey!" suddenly he was around the corner and the others heard him speak. "We've been looking for you for ages! Where'd you go?"

The others followed quickly, rounding the corner and finding Sirius fast approaching Hermione who was sitting on the floor leaning against the wall. The wall which hid behind it the room of requirement.

Looking back, Hermione realized that running out of the classroom probably wasn't the best idea she'd ever had. She was running before she even realized it. And now, in the late evening hours, she found herself in a corridor long forgotten by most, sitting against the wall which would lead her to the room of requirement. She had gone there to hide… but when she had arrived, she couldn't't think of any kind of demand to make of the room. So there she sat, in silence, wondering what she was going to do next. It was one thing to change the future… it was an entirely different thing for everyone to find out about her past. She ran her hands over her face, letting out a heavy sigh. _I hate boggart__'__s. _She thought to herself.

"Is everything okay? After you ran out of class and never came back everyone was wondering…" Remus said, watching her carefully.

His voice seemed to came out of no where. She hadn't even heard them approach, her head snapped up at the sound of Remus's voice her mouth forming into an o as she realized just who had found her. Quickly looking away she contemplated her reply.

She pushed herself off of the floor and stood, brushing dust off her robes. "I'm fine Remus, thank you. I was just… incredibly startled I suppose." she gave him a weak smile. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. "Isn't it a little late for you lot to be wandering the halls?" she questioned looking at her watch. "I should be getting back too, it's later than I though." She made to walk past them.

"Was she someone you know?" Sirius's question had by no means surprised her. She had hoped against all hope that they would just leave her alone, but she knew her hopes were in vain. Hermione stopped in her tracks. With Sirius, Remus and Peter behind her, and James standing almost directly in front of her.

"No… She's nobody." the word escaped her lips before she had the forethought to stop it. Ginny? A nobody? It broke her heart to say it, but it was too late to take it back. To them she was no one. And it would remain that way.

"She didn't look like nobody. Not according to the look you had on your face anyway." was the reply Sirius made. Arms folded, eyes boring into the back of Hermione's head.

"I don't know who it was. It just freaked me out okay? What am I supposed to think of something like that. That g-girl." Hermione's eyes drifted to the floor. "All that blood." her voice was nearing a whisper. "Everyone's worst fear right." she laughed, it sounded strained and unnatural. The strangled laugh escaped again, she had a slight grin on her face as she turned away from James to face Sirius. Why was she even _trying _to make excuses. She should be just ignoring the questions altogether.

Hermione shook her head, one hand going to her face covering her eyes. This was crazy. She was sure she was loosing her mind. _And I was having such a good week too._

"Who are you?"

The question came from James.

Peering through her fingers, she slowly slid her hand over her face, fingers lingering on her lips for a moment, then falling to her side. "I'm me of course." she answered. "Who else would I be?"

The boys shared a look, Hermione seemed more than a little unhinged at the moment. Sirius watched her carefully, wondering if this was the perfect opportunity to find out exactly who she was and what was going on. But he couldn't shake the feeling that if she were pressed too hard she would break, and not in the way they wanted. "I don't know." he answered simply. There was silence for a moment. Each of them staring at each other as though nothing else existed.

Hermione wondered why he was being so persistent. Why he was making such an effort to dig deeper into her life. Then he said it. "Granger?"

She stopped breathing in that moment. Her eyes had locked on a spot on his robes, right above the Gryffindor crest. _Granger?_ Her name rung through her head as if she were sitting inside a cave, echoes bouncing back at her. _Granger?_ _How did he know?_ She slowly looked up, eyes eventually coming into contact with his before they narrowed dangerously. _The map._

"Excuse me." Her breath had returned. Anger consumed her. This was turning into a soap opera. If only there were a few secret love affairs going on and an unborn baby who's fathers identity was a mystery. Then it would all be complete. The laugh escaped again. She made to walk past them, not bothering to comment. She had decided she wasn't ready to go back to the dorm yet. A walk was definitely in order.

Sirius grabbed her arm, none too gently at that, causing her to swing around and stumble. "Your not going anywhere until you expla-"

"What is there to explain!" The boys jumped at her sudden yell. "What is it that you want to know so badly? I'm no concern of yours." Hermione snapped, pushing Sirius and in effect releasing herself from his hold. "Have I harmed you in any way. Is the mystery _killing_ you Sirius?" Anger. It was all she could feel. "How about the rest of you? Is there a reason to care? Why is it that I can't get a moment of peace without one of you lurking up behind me and looking over my shoulder?"

"Hey! You-" Sirius started to speak again, growing more agitated with every passing second.

" I what?" Hermione spat. "I nearly died? Who did it? What? Do you honestly think that I _care_ about what you want to know? If there were something that you were supposed to be privy to, believe me, you'd know already. I'd have no qualms what so ever releasing any information. Unfortunately I'm not as interesting as you might think. I was chased down, tormented, tortured, and chased again by a bunch of death eaters! But believe me when I say I gave as good as I got. There you go! Happy now? So _please…_" Her voice had become sickly sweet, she had edged towards Sirius. "Shove off." she pushed him again, surprising him and sending him falling to the ground.

"Hey!"

Wands were drawn and suddenly Hermione realised just what she had gotten herself into. She was in a brawl with the marauders. They weren't exactly known for being kind to those who didn't agree with them. Despite Remus's best efforts to diffuse any unsavoury situation. James and Sirius had never been known for being kind to their enemies. And Peter… Well, Hermione didn't know much about the boy she seen in front of her now. But she did know the man he would become.

Hermione found herself alone with three, soon to be four (Sirius was still on the floor staring in shock) wands pointed at her. Her wand hand twitched but she suppressed the urge to arm herself.

"I-I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me." Her voice was back to a whisper. "I shouldn't have pushed you Sirius, or yelled. I apologize. I over reacted." her mind raced. _I don't want to deal with this. _She thought to herself. _Why can't I just have some sort of normalcy in my life?_ Suddenly she was annoyed. "Your curious, I can't blame you for that. It's human nature" _That doesn't mean it's not incredibly irritating though. _"Unfortunately, there are few questions that I can answer without endangering myself, or others. Please understand that."

The wands were slowly being lowered. Sirius was being helped to his feet by Peter. They were all looking at her sceptically. "Why are you in danger?" James asked.

"I'm muggle born." was her reply. "Muggle born. And… well. I've seen things that I was not meant to see." It wasn't exactly a lie. She was young, barely nearing adulthood. She shouldn't be involved in a war. None of them should. But they were… or rather, they would be.

"You said Death Eaters. Is that who your hiding from? You seen something they were doing and now your on the run?" Peter ventured.

She paused and thought, wondering when Peter's involvement with Voldamort started and if he was already in the clutches of the Dark Wizard. "Yes Peter." She looked around, examining the faces of the boys standing around her. They looked thoughtful, and more than a little apprehensive.

"So who was the girl?" Sirius posed the question again. "And what's with the Hogwarts banner?"

"No one… she's no one. I don't know. Please stop asking. I beg of you, stop digging. I'd very much like to keep my sanity." Hermione shrugged. "It's late, I'm going back to the dorm."

She walked past them, this time no one stopped her. Her heart was hammering in her chest. _Too close. That was far too close._

The next day she sat through breakfast, lunch, and supper in the great hall and nothing was mentioned by the marauders of the previous days encounter. She was asked occasionally by other students about her boggart. She simply answered that she was deathly afraid of seeing someone bleed to death, and she had been awfully nervous about attending Hogwarts. A lame excuse she knew, but in all honesty she had no idea what else she was supposed to tell them.

Later that evening she found herself sitting next to the lake. Throwing pebbles and watching as ripples flowed outward. She connected with those ripples, with the pebbles. One little pebble dropped into the water changed everything, the ripples starting small and spreading themselves wider, affecting everything around it. That was her. She was a pebble, dropped into the great expanse of time. She was creating her own ripples, except she couldn't see how far out they reached. And just like those pebbles she was throwing, she was sinking. It was only a matter of time before she reached the bottom.

She was about to toss another pebble when she heard the screech of an owl. One of the schools owl's landed before her, extending it's leg where a letter was attached. Taking the letter she instantly recognized the familiar loopy scrawl of Professor Dumbledore. Scanning the letter she got to her feet. He wanted to speak with her in his office. Her heart skipped a beat. _Is it possible? Could he have found me a way home? _Hope swelled in her chest. _There's only one way to find out. _

"I think we might have gone to far." Sirius said, looking up from his Transfiguration home work. Sirius, Remus and James sat in front of the fireplace of the Gryffindor common room. Peter had gotten detention after somehow lighting his workbench on fire in potions class earlier that day.

"Really? You think so?" Remus stated sarcastically. "Whatever gave you that idea?" He looked up briefly from his work then continued to scribble notes.

"Now there's no need to get on like that Mooney." Sirius tapped his quill on his work looking thoughtful. "She's trying so hard to keep her secrets, it's like there's a flashing neon sign over her head saying 'find out what I'm hiding! I dare you!'". He waved his quill about as he spoke sending spots of ink across the couch he was sitting on. Remus scowled then wiped the blots of ink which had landed on his hand off on his robes.

James sat quietly, looking at his textbook but his eyes unmoving. Maybe that was why he was so curious about her, she was trying to hard to be invisible that it was practically impossible not to notice her.

"She said she was tortured." Sirius comment quietly. No one was in the common room except them, the late night hour had driven everyone away into their beds, leaving the three alone and able to speak freely. "Do you think she was telling the truth?"

No one responded each of them staring thoughtfully at their respective pieces of homework. She had said she'd been tortured by death eaters. James had always thought the people who called themselves death eaters were just a bunch of misfit fanatics against muggle born's entering the wizarding world. There was no way they could be that much of a danger to her… could there?

"Even if she is, even if they did… do that. If she seen something she wasn't supposed to why wouldn't they just kill her. Why torture her?" Sirius continued. "If it's true, then she's lucky they only tortured her. She's lucky she got away with her life."

"You could say that I suppose." Hermione's voice floated through the common room.

The three boy's looked up in shock, embarrassed at having been caught talking about her. Hermione stood near the portrait hole, looking at them with tired eyes. "Still on about figuring me out I take it?" She walked towards them, throwing her satchel on the floor next to the couch James was sitting in, then taking a seat beside them. She had instantly been angry when she had entered the common room only to hear them speaking openly about her. But it subsided quickly. She had little to no energy left to be angry. And as long as they didn't find out about her being from the future everything would be find. She could tell mostly truths from here on out. She had never been the best liar. Sure she could put of a very believable act every now and again, there was no doubt about that. But living a lie was an entirely different thing, it was incredibly exhausting.

Hermione had never felt as lost as she had in that very moment. Here she was, sitting in to common room of Gryffindor house. With three people who in her time were supposed to be dead. It was almost as though she had died herself. A conference of ghosts who didn't even know they were dead. Because all in all, she no longer existed in her time. She had disappeared. Never to be seen again. "So what have you come up with? Let me hear your theories on the mysterious Hermione Granger."

"I'd rather not actually. I think I'll wait until I've completed the puzzle." replied Sirius with a grin and a wink. "More exciting that way you see."

Hermione laughed. "I'm afraid you'll be sorely disappointed Sirius."

There was silence once more. Hermione sighed, shrugging off her robes and tucking her feet underneath her. Draping her robe over he legs like a blanket she relaxed into the couch closing her eyes for a moment.

_She__'__s lucky she got away with her life._ Sirius's word's rang though her head. She almost laughed when she heard that. She had heard almost the same thing from Dumbledore only minutes earlier. She had tried to squish the budding hope in her chest before she went to the meeting, but it turned out to be impossible. She still felt incredibly hollow. He had told her, in no uncertain terms, that it would be impossible to return her to her time. At best, it would take many _many_ years of research, not to mention experimentation, and there just wasn't any way to perform such research without extensive help from outside sources which would alert the ministry to her presence. There was no way to send her back, no way to know which curse had broken the time turner.

"I think she's asleep."

Opening one eye she saw a nose and a pair of brilliant brown eyes staring back at her. "Ah!" startled she threw her hands out in front of her causing James to go tumbling off the couch onto the floor.

Laughter ensued as Hermione tried to slow her heart beat down and James moaned in pain on the floor. "What were you _doing_?" Hermione screeched.

"I thought you fell asleep!" James cried, holding the back of his head which had smacked against a small table in the center of the circle of chairs. "What were you doing! Shoving me like that! You could have killed me. Crazy girl."

Hermione tried not to laugh. She really did. But before she knew it she was consumed by laughter, letting out a couple not altogether lady like snorts as she tried to catch her breath. "Oh Merlin! That was-" she was laughing so hard she couldn't speak. "That-That, was hilarious!" her eyes watered, she wiped at the tears with her hand. "Sorry-Sorry, I'm okay." She took a deep breath, still fighting not to laugh.

She was having trouble controlling her laugher. She looked through watery eye's at James who was trying his best to look angry but was failing miserably at hiding a small smile that had formed despite his best efforts.

"You look so much like him." She said to James without thinking, wiping the remaining tears of laughter away from her cheeks. "My friend that is." She said, knowing they would want some sort of explanation.

"You must miss your friends." Remus stated. By this time their homework had been abandoned.

"Very much." Hermione replied quietly. "Have any of you ever had to leave a loved one behind?" She asked, truly curious, she didn't know much about them. What she did know were stories from days gone by (Or soon to come for her now she supposed.). She wasn't privy to much personal information about them. When she received no answer she spoke again. "It's a terrible feeling. Knowing you'll probably never see them again."

"What makes you say you'll never see them again?" James asked, having managed to pull himself back up onto the couch.

Smiling sadly she smoothed out a wrinkle in the robes on her lap. "I hope I will. But it's very unlikely. I'm afraid I've gotten myself into a bit of a jam. And there's no getting out of it. There's no more Granger, only Hermione Lain."

She could feel Sirius watching her. Knowing he was wondering why she was being so friendly, when only twenty four hours ago they had nearly been duelling. Truth be told she couldn't really explain it herself. She'd never willingly tell them the truth of everything, but there was no need to hid any longer. _Perhaps, you__'__re here for a reason Ms. Granger. Life works in mysterious ways. _Those were Dumbledore's word's to her before she had left his office that evening. "Life works in mysterious ways, you'll never really know what'll happen next I suppose." she said simply.

"So that girl. Was she your friend." Sirius prompted. Once again digging. Hermione could picture him digging a hole, shovel in hand, a hole just for her.

"Still on that I see." She paused. "She was the sister I never had. The last time I seen her… I don't know if she's alive or dead."

Sirius sat back in his chair, looking unsure of him self. "Oh, ah.. Sorry." He said finally. Looking at a far off wall in the common room. Awkward silence fell over the group, no one quite sure what to say after a revelation like that.

"And the Hogwarts banner?" Remus was giving her a calculating look. _Ever the observant one, not going to let that slip are you?_ She thought to herself.

"That I can't explain. I have no idea why the banner was there." She shrugged. "Where's Peter?" she asked, trying to suppress a cringe as she said his name.

"Detention." all three replied.

"It's rather late for detention isn't it?" she questioned glancing at her watch. It was almost midnight, his detention couldn't be running that late could it? She wasn't even sure if school rules allowed detentions to last that long.

"He always gets the raw end of the stick when it comes to detentions. He's never out of them before one." James answered. Propping his feet up on the table. Hermione made a mental note of Peter's late night detentions, finding them slightly suspicious.

So there she sat, in the common room of Gryffindor house with her should be dead companions. It was both the strangest and most incredibly normal thing she had ever experienced. They chatted until Peter returned from detention, talking about everything from muggle noise makers to the Chudley cannons. All talk of unpleasant things were unofficially banned from the conversation. Hermione dared to share more about herself, her family, her friends and her life. For almost an hour she felt like a normal human being, sitting around a fireplace, talking about normal things. She was a 'new' girl, in a 'new' school, making 'new' friends. She wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon, and friends were exactly what she needed.

…………..


	6. Chapter 6

Days went by, then weeks, then months. Hogsmead weekends came and went, the leaves had fallen from the trees and winter approached with a frightening speed and before she knew it, it was the day before Christmas holidays and all Hogwarts students were getting ready to go home. Hermione had found herself spending more and more time with the people of the past. Tentatively making new friends with her dorm mates and anyone else who dared approach her. Slowly she was feeling like herself again. She would never get over the events which had happened, but she was positive she could live through them. So slowly but surely she had begun to smile again. _Really_ smiling, _really_ laughing. But as the holidays begun approached she had found her smiles were becoming forced. And that her laughter sounded bitter, even to her own ears. She supposed it was only natural. She would be alone for Christmas, the thought wasn't exactly appealing to her. And now, she sat in a corner of the library, avoiding at all costs the buzz of people in her dormitory packing to go home tomorrow. She had been peacefully reading (albeit every time she turned a page she mentally apologized to the book for doing it so violently), minding her own business, until suddenly a body plopped itself down in the seat across from her.

"There you are! I've been looking everywhere!" James reached across the table and grabbed the book.

"Hey! I was reading that!" She cried indignantly.

"Hold on a minute, I'll give it back!" his eyes crinkled as he grinned at her. Suddenly Hermione was struck by just how happy he looked. He reached up and ruffled his hair with one hand, laying her book on the table as he did so. "Lilly tells me your staying here for Christmas break."

Grabbing her book back she started looking for the page she had been on. "Yes, unfortunately." she said crossly. "I've told you that before as well."

"Oh." he looked put out for a moment before he gained his momentum. "Well, we can't have that now can we! Get your things packed, your coming home with me and Sirius. Mum's just overjoyed to have another girl around the house, and there's plenty of room."

"Sirius and I." Hermione muttered, still looking for her page. Then she realized what he'd said. "No." she stated with wide eyes, looking up at him. "I can't… Dumbledore-"

"Spoke with him, he didn't have a problem with it, said that you could do whatever you pleased." James grinned at her. "I'm not taking no for an answer. You better go pack or I'll be dragging you home and you'll have nothing to wear but your school robes all Christmas." James got up and left the table. "See you later Hermione!" he waved over his shoulder but Hermione was too busy hiding her blushing face behind her book.

Why did these things happen to her? Of all the people to invite her home for the holidays it had to be James Potter. And she knew that if she refused to go they would cause havoc in her life for weeks to come. She gave up on finding her page and put her head on the table. "Guess I should go pack." she whispered to herself, not realizing that a small smile had appeared on her face. A _real _smile at that. It looked like she wouldn't be spending the holidays alone after all.

Why she had agreed was beyond her. She knew she should have said no and stuck to her guns. And it was no one's decision but her own in the end. She all too willingly allowed James to twist her rubber arm and now she sat in the living room of the Potters home with James and Sirius. The night had grown late, Mrs. And Mr. Potter had gone to sleep many hours ago.

"Do you think I should send Lily a Christmas gift?" James asked suddenly. They had been sitting quietly, listening to the radio. Hermione had been curled up on the couch reading with Sirius next to her trying not to fall asleep.

"Yes. Why not?" Hermione answered, glancing over the top of her book at James. He was sitting on the floor, thumbing through an old magazine he had found lying around.

"I don't know… She doesn't seem all that fond of me really." James answered in an almost exasperated tone.

"I wonder why." stated Hermione with a dry laugh. "Perhaps you should let her see that your not all jokes and games. She seems to take things fairly seriously… maybe, if you give her a gift, nothing extravagant mind you, she'll realize that you're actually serious, that you actually like her and it isn't just some sort of joke. Give her a book or something." Hermione felt her stomach twist in a strange way. She went back to reading her book but found she couldn't quite concentrate as well as she would like.

Sirius was snoring lightly. Head lolling onto his shoulder. Hermione put her book down and watched him for a moment. He looked so relaxed and unguarded. It struck her as oddly familiar sitting here with the two boys. One dozing innocently and the other one fretting over something that she knew (for a fact because Harry's existence proved it) he would eventually succeed in doing. She closed her eyes, leaning her head against the back of the sofa. She could imagine it was Ron and Harry there with her. Relaxing a the burrow, hearing the crackling of the fire, any minute now Ginny would seat her self down on the floor and start exclaiming about something or other in the excitable way she always spoke. Hermione tried to imagine their faces, their voices, what they would be talking about… But she found she was having a hard time bringing it all into focus.

Opening her eyes she found James watching her curiously. "Seems everyone's falling asleep on me." He said with a smile.

Hermione yawned, "Seems so. We can't all keep up with the almighty James Potter I'm afraid." Hermione poked Sirius with her foot, he swatted at her leg but groggily sat up straight and rubbed at his face. Mumbling something along the lines of "I'm going to bed" he got up and trudged upstairs dragging his feet as he went.

"I'm off to sleep too." Hermione rose to follow Sirius grabbing her book and tucking it under her arm. James followed turning off the lights as he went. They walked up stairs together, chuckling as they heard Sirius bang his foot on his bed and his quiet cursing afterwards.

Grabbing her things from the guest room she took them to the bathroom where she quickly brushed her teeth and washed her face. Looking at her reflection in the mirror she realized how incredibly _old_ she felt. But the reflection in the mirror stated otherwise. The young girl staring back at her did not reflect the person she felt was on the inside. Sighing she told herself she was thinking too much. Turning off the light she opened the door. And collided with none other than James, caught off guard they both tumbled to the ground.

James grabbed her and twisted them around just in time to avoid smashing into a small table in the hall way. They remained still for a moment, holding their breath waiting for the sound of someone waking up because of the noise. After a minute of silence Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. Hermione found herself in a precarious position. Having twisted to avoid the table James had found himself on top of Hermione.

Staring down at her James for the first time realized how fragile she looked. The startled expression on her face as they fell would have been funny if it hadn't brought him back to the first day he'd seen her. The panic on her face as she staggered up to them and all the blood… it had left an impression. He could only imagine how she felt.

He had been shocked into silence by their proximity, it took him almost a full minute to realize that she wasn't moving… or breathing. And then another 30 seconds before he realized she was listening to see if they'd woken anyone up. James thanked Merlin for the darkness, otherwise the blush which had risen to his cheeks would have caused much further embarrassment. "Sorry, are you okay?" James practically whispered.

"Yeah- Yeah I'm fine, sorry about that." She felt his breath on her skin and wondered why every muscle in her body had tensed like a coil. "Um…"

"Oh, sorry." James got to his feet, taking Hermione's elbow and helping her as he did. "Right, you sure your okay?"

"Yes, absolutely… Good night James." Hermione looked at the floor and hurried away to her room. Shutting the door quietly behind her she then ran to her bed and flew under the covers in record time. Burying her face in her pillow she attempted to hide the blush on her face from the only one in the room… herself.


	7. Chapter 7

Christmas was a fairly quite affair… Or would have been had it not been for James and Sirius who seemed to get incredibly excited about just about everything. James had sent of a book (under Hermione's suggestion) to Lily as a Christmas present. And all three Hogwarts students were well fed and content with the company, to the point where Hermione wondered how she could ever stand to go back to school.

It was the day before they returned on the Hogwarts Express when James decided it would be excellent to go 'play in the snow' as he to maturely put it. It took roughly forty five minutes for James and Sirius to convince Hermione to go adventure in the snow. Oh yes, she had come up with excuses not to, argued, begged even to be left to the comfort and warmth of the inside of the Potter residence. But to no avail, recognizing that she was fighting a loosing battle, she took the warm clothes Mrs. Potter had gathered for her and DAWNED them as though they would be the death of her.

"Not much for the outdoors eh?" Sirius nudged her side as she stood by the door.

"Not much…" she replied. _I wonder if I could make a run for it?_ She pondered, glancing behind her at the stairs leading upstairs. If she was quick enough she could make it up the stairs and lock herself in the guest room before they even realized what was happening… did the guest room even have a lock? _Shoot, he looking_. Sirius smiled as she quickly looked away from the stairs with a huff.

"There's no escape my dear Hermione. You're just going to suck it up and come have fun with us." Sirius opened the door and pushed Hermione out into the cold snowy out of doors.

"I like outdoors…" Hermione muttered darkly, pulling her scarf up to cover her nose. "Just not when it's minus forty out." Grumbling she let Sirius lead her to the end of the street where James had left snowshoes for them.

"You know… You could have picked a better day to go snowshoeing." Hermione sighed. Although the snowfall wasn't all that heavy, it was light and fluffy enough to be easily blown around by the slight bit of wind that had picked up.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about it, it's not that bad, and I've been out in worst." Sirius laughed.

Hermione smiled though it didn't reach her eyes. Oh she knew he'd been out in worst, or rather, would be. She shook her head, to clear her thoughts. She had to stop thinking like that. She was where she was, thinking about the future… well… it was rather depressing. _Might as well make the best of it. _Linking her arm through Sirius's she made an excited skip. "So, where are you taking me on this outdoor adventure? And whys James gone on ahead?"

"You'll see." Sirius said with wink.

"You're awful you know."

"So you've said."

They reached the end of the street after a few minutes of walking. Retrieving the two pairs of snowshoes which were sticking out of the snow bank Sirius strapped them onto Hermione's feet, then put on his own and lead her even further away from the cozeyness of the Potter residence.

They followed James show shoe tracks for what seemed like hours (It was probably more like 15 minutes, before they came to a small hill. Sirius stopped, turning around to face Hermione. "We're here!" He beamed at her.

Looking around Hermione stared from tree to tree, looking for James, or a fire, or _something_. That would indicate exactly why here was _here_. There was nothing incredibly special about this place that she could see.

"COMMIN THROUGH!"

Hermione was thrown to her feet with a _oomph_, powdered snow erupted into a cloud around her and the only thing she was really aware of was Sirius's loud laughter and the _very_ cold snow which had worked it's way into her coat.

Hermione screamed and jumped to her feet… Or tried to at least. Forgetting about he snowshoes she scrambled to her feet and took a threatening step towards James who was running through the snow sans-snowshoes with what looked like a crazy carpet in his arms. The next threatening step turned out to be the most dangerous, as she moved forward she found that she was stepping on her other snowshoe and subsequently tumbled face first into the snow.

After a fair amount of kicking, flailing and cursing she managed to untangle herself and demand that the contraptions be taken off her feet. Deep snow be damned, she rather wade through snow waist high then trip over those blasted things again.

"_This_ is your idea of outdoor fun!" Hermione fumed while James and Sirius fumbled to get the snowshoes off without taking off their gloves. "I'll have you know that wandering around aimlessly in the woods and knocking people off their feet is _not_ the ideal outdoor experience."

"Why so tense Hermione? Live a little. See that hill there?" James chucked her snowshoes into the snow near where his and Sirius's had been abandoned. Hermione looked at the hill again, it wasn't all that large, with few trees to cover it. "It's the best sliding hill you'll ever find. And you will slide down it, even if I have to tie you to a toboggan and push you down myself."

_When did these two decide to be so bold. _She complained silently. After sitting in the snow for a minute or two, staring between Sirius who was now standing a few feet to her right with the crazy carpet, and James who was still crouched next to her feet she made a decision.

In a flash Hermione had pushed herself up and launched herself at James who's last vision was a handful of snow coming straight as his face. Getting to her feet as quickly as possible Hermione jumped over James and threw more handfuls of snow towards Sirius who-slightly more prepared for the attack than James- tried to bat the snow making it scatter in all directions. "Lets slide!" Hermione laughed grabbing the slide from Sirius and begging the trek up the hill.

The two boys watched her in disbelief as she worked her way up the hill. "One minute she's hot, the next she's cold. The girls' nuts." Sirius stated with a laugh before helping James up and following her up the hill.

They spent the next few hours climbing up the hill, and then sliding down, with intermittent snowball fights and battles over whose turn it was to slide next. Hermione had almost forgotten what it was like to have fun, to just be a kid without a care in the world. Sitting at the top of the hill waiting for James to return with she slide Hermione felt like she was exactly where she was supposed to be, doing what she was supposed to be doing... If only it were the truth.

Flopping back into the snow she stared at the sky, despite the blue sky and the sun, the powdery snow that had fallen and the bitter wind had made for a fairly cold day. Hermione was ready to call it a day.

"Hermione?" Sirius was leaning back, propped up on his elbows watching James slip and slide as he worked his way towards them.

"hm?" She was so comfortable, despite the cold, she turned her head to face Sirius, looking at him through half closed eyelids.

He glanced at her before his attention went back to James who was roughly half way up the hill. He was silent for another moment or two.

"Hermione…" He said again. "What- Who- ah." He stopped, adjusting his hat in a frustrated manner. He was looking at her out of the corner of his eye now. "I'm sorry… I don't mean to put you on the spot… but… I know more about this... _war_ than most… And, well. To be honest I want to make sure James and the Potters are as far away from it as possible."

Her eyes widened and she shifted her gaze back to the sky uncomfortably. Her hands clenched and unclenched as she wondered where he was going with this.

His voice was quite and serious. "I like you Hermione, your great and all… but if there's any chance of you dragging them into whatever it is that you're into…"

"Catch!" James chucked the crazy carpet the remaining distance, the slide landed practically on Hermione's head. Grabbing it before it smacked her in the face she sat up and arranged herself on it.

She couldn't figure out if the tears in her eyes were because of the cold or Sirius words. But the small smile on her face was definitely a result of what he said. Grabbing a hand full of snow she shimmied down the hill until she gained momentum and chucked a snowball at James head. Sirius's statement was kind of ironic she thought to herself as she flew down the hill. It was a Potter that got her into this mess in the first place. If only he knew.


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you for taking the time to read my story! I know there's a lot of grammatical errors, and inconsistencies scattered all over. Sorry about all that, I know it can take away from enjoying the read sometimes, but I write for fun, and in all truth am not all that interesting in editing. Though maybe someday I'll come back and have a look over everything, touch it up a bit ^.^. All of my chapters are horribly short as well, I feel bad sometimes, I know how great it is to read a nice long chapter and feel satisfied after waiting so long for an update. And here I am making everyone wait ages and updating little tibits most of which arn't more than 1500 words long. Also, I'm very jealous of people who actually know how to work word processors properly. The layout of my fics are driving me insane. I can't seem to get it to _look_ the way I want. lol well now that I've gone of on a tangent I'll let you get to reading. I'm glad most of you have been enjoying it so far! And I hope you'll enjoy the rest! Thank you very much for all your wonderful review!**

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They had been back at Hogwarts for a few weeks now, but Hermione still felt uneasy whenever Sirius was near. She couldn't get what Sirius had said out of her head. It was touching really, that he was so concerned. At the same time it had brought up something that had almost been put to rest in the shadows of her mind. Was it possible that she could somehow be a liability? That she could put the people around her in danger? In truth she had no idea. There was no real reason that she would be targeted by Voldemort in this time. She was of no interest to them… Unless someone found out she was from the future. As long as that secret was kept safe there was no reason for any concern she reasoned.

James had eased off on being her perpetual shadow and somehow, Hermione thought, had become a real friend. Though it boggled her mind to thinking about it. Harry would have a fit if he ever knew.

"Ready?" Remus asked with a smile, fixing his scarf.

Nodding Hermione followed him to the carriages which would bring them to Hogsmeade. "Will James and Sirius be meeting us there?" she asked, wondering where the boys had gone off too, Peter (once again) had managed to get himself detention somehow.

Reums laughed a little "They'll turn up eventually I guess."

The two chatted about classes for a while, comfortable pauses in the conversation popping up occasionally. Hermione had been looking out the window for most of the ride, peeking at the young Remus Lupin out of the corner of her eye.

"What do you think you'll do when you graduate Remus?" Hermione questioned. Although she knew what would happen, she still wondered how he would answer.

"I… I'm not sure. I was thinking about going into some form of research… medical research perhaps." He said thoughtfully.

"That's an excellent idea!" Hermione finally looked at him. "The magical world has so many quick fixes, potions to heal broken bones, spells to heal cuts. But there are still so many things that need more attention… Things that are more problematic than a broken arm or a paper cut. Don't you think?"

He looked puzzled for a moment before answering with a quiet 'yeah'.

Suddenly the carriage rocked violently, sending Hermione to the floor with a loud thud as she landed on her knees. It kept moving, Remus had managed to brace himself with a hand on the ceiling but looked bewildered. "What was-"

There was a loud crunch, the sound of wood splintering, and screams. The carriage came to a dead halt and in what felt like less than a second Remus was lunging for the door in an attempt to see what was happening out side. Panicking Hermione grabbed his legs and pulled sending him crashing down on top of her.

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" Hermione half yelled at Remus who was now cursing at her and trying to pull himself off her.

"What are you doing!" he yelled as he found she was holding him in place.

"Idiot! Anything could be out there!" Hermione hissed inches away from his face. She had him by the collar and cloak.

Remus quieted, blinking as though he was suddenly able to see things clearly. _Hermione's eyes. _He thought. _Are those really her eyes?_

More screams could be heard. Letting go of Remus Hermione pushed him away until she was able to kneel and shuffle to one of the windows. Between the snow and the moisture she couldn't see what was happening outside. _Death Eaters?_ She wondered. It had to be, who else would be attacking Hogwarts carriages.

"What's going on out there?" Remus whispered.

"I… I don't know." Hermione looked over her shoulder at him. Then back out the foggy window. "Fuck."

"Are you okay?" Remus was suddenly very aware of just how traumatic this could be for Hermione. After all she had come from a school attacked and destroyed by death eaters. "Hermione, it's probably just a broken wheel on one of the carriages I'm sure everything's fine. Just let me go out and-"

"It's not. It's not a broken wheel." She stated firmly. What was going on out there? People were yelling but she couldn't see properly, she heard someone approaching their carriage. Her heart beat in her ears; she could swear it'd taken up residence in her head. More yells. Whoever had been approaching turned around running back in the direction they came from.

"Common… Be ready to run Reums." She clenched and unclenched her wand hand. Looking once again over her shoulder at Remus to make sure he was ready. And once again he was stricken by the look in her eyes. Slowly she cracked open the door, looking in the direction she'd heard the yelling she seen flashes from curses being sent, black cloaks. "Under the carriage Remus. Be quick." In a flash the door was open and she had thrown herself under the carriage, scrambling to the other side hidden from the sight of the attackers Remus who followed quickly behind her.

"You have your wand?" Hermione asked.

"Y-yes. Hermione? Are those?"

"Death Eaters." She stated. This was bad, _really bad_. Half of her wanted to charge out and start shouting curses, the other half knew she'd be killed or worst yet captured, in an instant. "What are they doing attacking school children?" Hermione seethed. "What's the point?" She was silent for a moment.

"BY ORDER OF THE MINISTER OF MAGIC YOU ARE ALL UNDER ARREST!" Hermione gave a start at the seemingly supernatural booming voice. Suddenly the yelling became louder, the flashes of light became more intense, and within minutes she heard the unmistakable cracks of people disapperating. "It's alright! It's alright children! More aurors are on their way to accompany you back to Hogwarts." She heard someone say.

She looked at Remus and felt a kind of relief she didn't know she was capable of. She had no idea what would have happened if they hadn't shown up. They couldn't very well have hid behind the carriage the entire time. Remus moved to make his way out in the open when Hermione grabbed him by the arm. What if it was a trick?

"It's okay Hermione, that's Kingsley Shackelbolt, I've seen him a couple times in the paper and heard him on the radio… He's definitely one of the good guys." Remus knelt in front of her.

For the first time Hermione realized that it felt like her body was on fire, every muscle was coiled and tense. _Am I shaking?_ She wondered.

"Are you okay?" Remus asked. Hermione had suddenly grown very pale. Eyes closed tightly Hermione took a deep breath.

"Yeah… I think. Just… too much adrenalin I guess." Hermione laughed and shook her head.

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"Death Eaters?" Sirius stated, looking back and forth disbelievingly at the griyffindors who were seated in the common room. "Death Eaters? Seriously?" Everyone nodded silently. Sirius and James had arrived only moments ago after wandering around Hogsmeade all day wondering where everyone was and not getting any answer from the locals, they turned back, only to find that the hallways and great hall were empty as well. They had returned to gryffindor tower and were incredibly shocked to hear the goings on.

There was a quiet "We're seriously serious Sirius." Everyone snickered. And Sirius directed a chilling glare in the direction of the offender. "Margret's being pulled out of school by her parents, as are a few others I think… After today." Lily despite her dislike for the marauders, had joined in the houses discussion on today's events. It seemed after the attack the whole house had gathered in the common room, and would remained there late into the night. Lily at this point was one of the few who were left awake besides Hermione, James, and Sirius. The others had all gone up to their room's ages ago.

Hermione sat quietly, she rubbed her wand hand. How hard had she been clutching her wand? Her hand felt like she had punched a wall. Thinking back the whole thing had been rather stressful not just for her for everyone involved, she knew what it was like to be on the wrong end of a death eaters wand, and she was horrified to think that everything that had happened to her during her time at Hogwarts was about to happen all over again. She had managed to hold it together until the ministry's aurors got them back to the school, it was about then she slipped away to bathroom and lost her breakfast.

"How did everyone get out alright? That's beyond lucky! Did they catch anyone?" James asked. Hermione stared at the fire, why hadn't she done something? She had just sat there and not did a thing, it was true no one was hurt, but that could have easily been much different. And she was the only one in the group of students who had any idea how to fight in a situation like that. She was the only one with experience. _Was._ She sighed. Supposing she should answer his question seeing she was the only one of those who had been on the trip left awake she spoke.

"Yeah, I think. One guy was hit by a stunner and arrested. So I suppose they'll question him or something. It just… seems so strange now that I think about it." Hermione wondered if maybe they just didn't have the time to do it, or perhaps simply forgot. "There was no dark mark… It's like… it's like they didn't want anyone to know they were there or something. It's unusual."

"You talk as though you know quite a bit about how they operate." Sirius stated almost scathingly. She looked at him with a calculating eye, did he thing she was the reason they were attacked?

"Sirius." James warned. They sat in silence for quite some time until James said good night and made his way up stairs. Only Hermione and Sirius were left in the common room, the only light left was that from the embers slowly burning inside the fireplace.

Sirius was watching her as covertly as he could. Remus had said she looked like death when the Aurors arrived. As though all the happiness and life had left her. He kept talking about her eyes. Sirius looked carefully at her eyes as she stared into what was left of the fire. He had said it was as though someone different had appeared in those eyes. Sirius couldn't see it.

"You must have been pretty shaken up with all that, what with everything you've been through." Sirius stated.

Hermione spared him a glance before looking back into the fire. "Yeah." she responded. She really had no interested in having another conversation like the one on the hill that day. She had no interest in having a conversation at all really. But Sirius seemed to have other idea.

"Were there other survivors? From your home I mean?" He asked. Slowly Hermione brought herself to look at him. Some how… she knew that he _knew_ that her whole story was a lie. He didn't believe a word of it, and was determined to find out the truth. Not in the same way James had been, he'd merely been curious, mildly concerned maybe. No Sirius was suspicious on a whole other level, he was acutely aware of how precarious a situation it was between the light and the dark forces of the wizarding world. And he was intent on being involved in the whole affair, weather he realized it or not.

"I don't know." Hermione said in a whisper. "I… I haven't been able to contact anyone." At least that wasn't a lie.

There were a few more moments of tense silence, Sirius obviously wanted to say something but either couldn't bring himself to do it or couldn't think of how to say what he wanted to say. Finally he stood and without a word climbed the stairs to his dormitory.

Hermione stretched out lazily on the couch closest to the fireplace, letting her feet dangle and soak up the warmth emitted. What a lousy day. At least no one was hurt. She supposed the headmaster would gather them together for a assembly tomorrow sometime to let them know what was going on. As thoughts such as these drifted through her head she didn't notice her eyelids growing heavy. And without noticing, within minutes, Hermione was asleep.

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It had been at least two hours since James had retired for bed. It was like his brain wouldn't shut down, it just kept going over and over what had happened again and again until he felt like tearing apart his pillow in sheer frustration. Of all the times they had to be late for the carriages to Hogsmeade this would be it. Kicking off his sheets James hauled the hangings from around his bed away and planted his feet on the cool stone floor.

He wasn't about to sleep anytime soon it seemed, might as well wander for a bit. Quietly he gathered his invisibility cloak and made his way down stairs. The fire in the common room had died out to a dull glow. "Hermione?" he said her name before he even thought about it. She must have fallen asleep on the couch he thought. Edging closer with the invisibility cloak tucked under his arm he paused and looked down at her. She looked so peaceful, it was as though the girl in tatters who he'd first seen had completely disappeared. He wondered what she'd been through and how she'd managed to keep herself together so far.

Then another thought, unbidden entered his mind. As he gazed down at Hermione, with the soft orange glow casting shadows over her small frame. He wondered if he could hold her, just for a moment… if she'd feel safe. The overwhelming need to touch her pushed him but he couldn't move, like a current of water against a dam he remained where he was looking at the sleeping mystery named Hermione Granger.


End file.
